“Well, I shall not describe Delhi, which is doubtless well known to the
reader; nor the siege of Agra, to which place we went from Delhi; nor
the terrible day at Laswaree, which went nigh to finish the war. Suffice
it to say that we were victorious, and that I was wounded; as I have
invariably been in the two hundred and four occasions when I have found
myself in action. One point, however, became in the course of this
campaign QUITE evident--THAT SOMETHING MUST BE DONE FOR GAHAGAN. The
country cried shame, the King's troops grumbled, the sepoys openly
murmured that their Gujputi was only a lieutenant, when he had performed
such signal services. What was to be done? Lord Wellesley was in an
evident quandary. 'Gahagan,' wrote he, 'to be a subaltern is evidently
not your fate--YOU WERE BORN FOR COMMAND; but Lake and General Wellesley
are good officers, they cannot be turned out--I must make a post for
you. What say you, my dear fellow, to a corps of IRREGULAR HORSE?'
“It was thus that the famous corps of AHMEDNUGGAR IRREGULARS had
its origin; a guerilla force, it is true, but one which will long be
remembered in the annals of our Indian campaigns.
*****
“As the commander of this regiment, I was allowed to settle the uniform
of the corps, as well as to select recruits. These were not wanting as
soon as my appointment was made known, but came flocking to my standard
a great deal faster than to the regular corps in the Company's service.
I had European officers, of course, to command them, and a few of my
countrymen as sergeants; the rest were all natives, whom I chose of
the strongest and bravest men in India; chiefly Pitans, Afghans,
Hurrumzadehs, and Calliawns: for these are well known to be the most
warlike districts of our Indian territory.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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